Beloved
by LilacPrimaDonna
Summary: Sick cats are meant to stay at home. But what are they without their beloved owners?
1. Chapter 1

**i. Beloved**

_The dim lighting of the restaurant shone on two people seated at a scarlet-clothed table. _

_Quiet chatter surrounded the couple. It was unnoticed by either person. The two were engaged in their own silent exchange. _

_On the beautiful winter evening, the young girl of the duo wore a warm, knitted sweater dress for the occasion while the young man was clad in a more casual yet semi-formal wear. Minutes into their arrival at the restaurant, dinner was served and enjoyed by the lovely two. _

_After an hour of idle chatter and laughter, a comfortable silence enveloped them. That is, until a feminine whisper disrupted the peace. Not that the navy-haired male minded. _

_"I, uhm-" she coughed and cleared her throat. And he waited patiently. Or rather, it only seemed like he was patient. The composed but slightly perturbed face of the young man gave away his impatience. _

_"Yeah..?" he replied, urging her on. Trying to endure the suspense proved to be difficult, especially when the love of his life was about to confess her love for him. Or seemed to be. And as cliché as it seemed, if that wasn't cliché enough, he would have waited an eternity for her to tell him what he wanted to hear. _

_The corner of her lips twitched. She smirked, which was unusual for her, and replied, "What's wrong, Ikuto? You look a little desperate."_

_He glared at her and turned his face away from her. _

_Suddenly, the girl appeared in front of him and lifted her hand up to her lips. "It's a secret," she whispered. Then she paused and leaned in closer, "I love you, Ikuto."_

* * *

A phone rang out, interrupting his wonderful dream.

"What the heck..." murmured the young man. Languidly, Ikuto picked up his phone to read the brightly-lit screen.

_From: Amu Hinamori  
__To: Ikuto Tsukiyomi  
__Dec. 1 8:10 AM_

_Ikuto, you're an idiot. Don't do that again._

Ikuto reread the text and tried to decipher some sort of love confession from it. The love confession wasn't found. Noticing the date just afterwards, he sighed with slight disappointment and rested his hand atop his eyes for awhile to block out the morning light pouring from the window.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, the young man rolled off his bed and slowly made his way toward the bathroom. Once Ikuto made it there, he ran his fingers through the tangles of his navy blue hair and looked in the mirror.

Under his eyes were dark circles, making his face look paler in comparison. Not only did his face look awful, his posture was hunched and made him look unattractive. He rubbed his throat, which was itchy from not talking to anybody for awhile. His entire body was aching from staying in bed for the entire week. And after that week…

Ikuto still felt sick.

Now, there is a long list of possibilities for why that might be. Maybe it was because he had been waiting outside for his fair maiden to open her door for who knows how long. Or perhaps it was the fact that that on the coldest day of the year, he was trailing behind said maiden without a coat on. Then again, it might have had something to do with refusing to eat unless he was being fed by her. She declined.

He was a fool in love, as the movies would describe, and how wonderful have the consequences of love been. The kinds of things Ikuto would do for Amu, his fuschia-haired beloved.

It was raining out, so Ikuto turned to stare out the window of his living room at the beautiful weather. He yawned, but that drew out a fit of coughs. Mornings like this made Ikuto sleepy, which led to more desirable dreams about his dear Amu.

Ikuto groaned. Why can't dreams come true?

His feelings for her were so strong that he would do just about anything to see her every day and do anything to make her happy. If she never wanted to see him again, he would move out in a heartbeat. No, actually, that was an exaggeration. He would disappear out of her sight but continue to follow her around.

Ikuto was indeed crazy about her, not that he would ever admit it. He would rather not be called a liar.

The blue-haired male sighed again as ran his fingers through his hair several more times. He quickly turned to walk back to his humid bedroom when the hallway started spinning, then Ikuto couldn't see anything at all. Everything blacked out.

He stood where he was until he was interrupted by the doorbell a minute later when the colors came back. Ikuto staggered slowly toward the wooden front door. Apparently, he was too slow on the way because when he opened the door, no one was there.

His journey back upstairs wasn't anything different, so he laid down on the bed in his earlier position.

A knock was heard on his balcony door as soon as his head hit the pillow. A blob of pink was seen behind the blurry, rained window. The person moved their head closer to the glass to reveal hazy amber eyes.

_Lovely Amu. _

Strange, it was usually vice versa.

He narrowed his eyes and thought some more, dismissing the pounding from his current headache.

She can't just be here. The love of his life shouldn't be here. First off, she would usually be ignoring his existence- not try to find him at all, like he does her. What a twist. It was probably a hallucination, which seemed likely, since he was sick at the moment. Though, if it was a hallucination, she would have the brightest smile on her face just for him, not an annoyed expression topped with a menacing glare. She seemed to be shouting something over the pouring rain too.

Ikuto just stared at her with the same expression, or lack thereof. Suddenly, the door of his balcony slid open. The slam of the glass made him wince from his bed as it echoed in his head and rang in his ears. In short, the sounds were far from pleasant.

The girl reopened the door and shook off the water from her umbrella outside before glancing at him in the dark room. Taking a dry towel out of her handbag, she dried her hair with it. Weird how she got rained on, even with an umbrella.

Amu then turned her head toward the balcony. "Huh. I guess you don't lock your balcony door either," she said, shaking her head in mock disapproval, "You could get kidnapped one day."

"By you? Am I getting kidnapped right now?" He mumbled the words through his blankets, but they were still audible for her to hear them.

"No and no. You're the one who's always telling me to lock my door, you hypocrite."

Ikuto threw more fuel into the flame with his reply. "I think you're more likely to get kidnapped than me, child."

"Don't call me child, you... you old man!"

"Then go away, grandma."

"Ugh, don't be such an ass!"

Amu, flushed and fuming in her spot, was met with silence as Ikuto shuffled around in his bed. He coughed for longer than usual while tightening the blankets around himself to block out the sound. The girl stood there and waited for him to redeem himself.

"Just leave me alone, Amu."

The response was unexpected. Usually, he would tell her to get closer to him, whining for her forgiveness. Sorta. Curious and a tad concerned, she silently walked towards him to try and peer over the heavy blankets.

Still hidden under his covers, Ikuto thought Amu left since it was what she always did when he made her mad. Ikuto moved his blankets out of his face to breathe in fresh air. Ikuto was met with the face of his dream girl, her face slight of worry. He sighed, wishing it was a day when he wasn't coughing out his lungs or woozy and tripping over everything.

Ikuto closed his eyes and asked through a yawn, "Why are you still here, Amu?"

Said girl studied him closer before stating, "You're sick."

Ikuto wanted to croak out in response. His throat was already tired from the excessive coughing earlier on top of his conversation with her.

"You should be more concerned for yourself. You're looking ugly today."

"Well, I'm surprised, dear Amu. You pay attention to how I look everyday. Hot, right?"

He looked up at her and slightly smirked at her flustered appearance. "I do not! You look hideously repulsive everyday!"

"I'm still flattered by how much you ogle me." She stuck out her tongue at him in retort.

The concern for his well-being led Amu to cautiously place her hand against his forehead. The girl bluntly stated, "You're, like, really sick. What the hell, Ikuto?"

"And _you _will be sick too if you don't get out," he replied. She scoffed, a bit surprised by what he was worried about. Ikuto moved away from underneath her warm hand and faced the wall opposite to Amu. If he didn't usher her out, he would be the one taking responsibility for her being ill later on. He did not want her to catch it and blame it on him. And this time, it really would be his fault.

While he was overthinking his current situation, the female next to him impatiently drummed her dainty fingers on the bedpost. She was annoyed that he didn't tell her earlier when she was out shopping a few hours ago. The contents in the plastic bag she brought weren't fit for a sick person. Said bag laid abandoned near the balcony's glass door till Amu decided to take it by the handles and downstairs to his kitchen.

Thinking she left him alone and out of his life… hopefully not… he stretched his aching back and yawned into his pillow. Now he felt a little lonely. Then again, it's better to revel in the loneliness and abandonment than to give his love his cold.

Strange. Strange it was to see the love of his life in his house, let alone know where he lived. His mind was foggy, which explained why it didn't occur to him in the first place. How on earth did she know where he lived?

Ikuto fell asleep with the thought. It took a while with his congested nose, but he napped nonetheless. Just a short nap.

* * *

**Excuse me for the excuses... **  
**So sorry, Ikuto. o.o'' I wrote this way in December but somehow only uploaded it today. Like, an entire half of a year later. Augh. I remember being sick around that time too... **

**Ooh, December... Happy belated, Ikuto! ouo**

**This will be a two-shot. Fun. **

**Questions, comments, or concerns? c: **


	2. Chapter 2

**ii. Beloved**

A sudden violent jab to his side woke Ikuto from his cat nap. He started hacking hazardously from the sudden pain.

He heard an uncaring voice that mumbled, "Whoops, sorry."

The sick male wanted to glare at the person who caused his injury, but what he saw made it impossible for him to stay mad very long.

His favorite girl was flushed a dark shade of pink that rivaled her hair. It was obvious to him that she was embarrassed at what she'd done. Before he could tease her about it, Ikuto found another reason for the girl to feel even more embarrassed. Amu was dressed in an innocent, frilly white apron, courtesy of his sister, whom he would have to thank later.

"It suits you, Amu dear." The named girl held a confused expression until she looked down to see what he was talking about. When she did, she blushed harder than she had previously and mumbled, "I just forgot. Damn you, Ikuto."

"So it's not for me?" Ikuto pouted then added, "I thought you left me."

"Well, I didn't, but there's a mess in your kitchen now," she countered nonchalantly.

_So that explains where she's been_, he thought. The sick male was pleased.

Amu didn't look him in the eye and reached for the tray on his bedside table. A steaming bowl of soup was placed on the tray with other essentials for his sickness. The classic chicken noodle soup. The scent was heavenly, tickling his nose and warming his face. It was a dream come true.

However, he was somewhat worried. Amu, the love of his life, was perfect in his eyes, but she was notorious for wreaking havoc in the kitchen, no matter how well her concoctions turned out.

"Here you go." She held out the bowl in her hands for him to take. No longer than he opened his mouth to speak, she quickly stated, "You're feeding yourself. Oh, wait a sec. I forgot something."

"You're so cruel, Amu," Ikuto whined as the female threw in some spices from the tray. The smell was no longer kind to his nose, even with his congestion. A burning sensation formed in the back of his throat, and his eyes started to water. _Really cruel._

Amu turned back around for the metal spoon Ikuto was holding to stir the soup. She turned her back to him and said, "You're so predictable, Ikuto dear."

The one statement clearly had an effect on him. More so than usual since he was practically dying in bed. His face felt warm, and his pulse was thumping in his ears. The usually calm demeanor of his was suddenly frazzled. Being sick sure took a toll on his character. He had to get his cool together before she turned around again. Or maybe she'll think it's from the cold.

"What's up with your face, weirdo?" Shit. Maybe not.

Amu handed him back the bowl and metal spoon. As soon as Ikuto got up, his arm knocked into the side of the bowl. Warm soup spilled over the side and onto the bed and himself.

"Aw crap," he said, trying to shake off the slight burn on his arm. The girl next to him shoved napkins onto the spill then glanced at the soup with a sigh of exasperation.

"On second thought," she started with a glare, "Just don't enjoy this too much."

"Of course not, darling." He chuckled rasply. The sick person sat up more carefully and turned to his sweet caretaker.

"What on earth am I going to do with you, you sly cat?"

_Nothing a few kisses can't do_, the young man thought with a smirk, Ikuto behaved while she spooned him the food. Finally, the last of the soup ran down his throat.

"Good kitty," Amu said offhandedly. In truth, Ikuto just didn't want her to stop, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Here. Take these." Amu held out her palm. There lay two identical white pills for him to consume. In her other hand, she was holding a tall glass of water.

Ikuto took it and asked suspiciously, "Is it cold water?" He knew that she knew that he hated lukewarm water- the taste of it made him want to puke because he could feel the warmth on his taste buds. How disgu-

"No." She was looking out his window uncaringly with her elbow on the side table and a cheek pressed inside the palm of her hand.

"Dammit, Amu."

"It's not gonna help if you drink cold water with the pills."

"Fine. Just don't complain when I vomit all over the place."

Taking the pills then drinking the water with more hesitation, Ikuto narrowed his eyes at Amu in resentment. Resisting the urge to gag when the liquid hit his tongue, Ikuto covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Some of the water went down the wrong pipe, so he began to hack up another lung. The pink-haired maiden started pounding his back in an attempt to bring back his flow of air.

When he finally stopped, the boy felt lightheaded and hot. Way to embarrass himself again. Ikuto hid his burning face beneath the covers. He did not want to get sick another time.

"Stop that. You're going to die from the heat, you idiot." The girl tugged on the sheets as Ikuto pressed his palms to his cheeks, as if willing them to turn back to their normal color.

The male reluctantly pulled them from over his head and waited for her to laugh in his face. Though, Amu was quite amused with the expression he held. Ikuto, on the other hand, never thought there would be a day when he'd see her eyes twinkle when she looked at him. But, if he did do that more often, his pride wouldn't be able to take it.

"Are you done dying?" Amu fiddled with the frills on the apron and yawned.

Suddenly, a phone was heard vibrating. Alarmed for a moment, Amu pulled out her phone. While she looked at whatever it was on her screen, Ikuto turned to the balcony window. The curtains revealed enough for him to see that the rain had stopped. What was left were white clouds in the sky that parted for some blue.

Ikuto heard the phone lock and asked, "Who was it?"

"Utau." Amu was still looking at the screen in contemplation.

"Hm, what about?"

"The forks and spoon I left in her house."

The blue-haired male pondered this before giving the girl a girl seemed to be considering whether or not she wanted to tell him. "For your birthday cake."

Amu peered over at him as if to make sure he wasn't assuming anything. Ikuto was merely looking at her with a poker face. He was actually surprised she remembered. And a little happy.

"No present?"

The girl seated next to him shrugged then said, "Now that you mention it, I did get you something." She reached inside the pocket of the white apron- he smirked- and pulled out something metallic silver.

It was a mini back scratcher. Ikuto's excitement dropped to its lowest at that point. He stared at it in indignation. Disappointment clouded his head, and he felt like shedding a tear. His expectations were too high.

"Ikuto..." His name sounded so bittersweet from her lips.

The young man was beginning to feel fatigued from the medication he took earlier. Too tired to hide his depression, Ikuto turned to stare at Amu. "Hm?"

The girl stared back but softened her expression. "It's the thought that counts, right? And I'm just kidding. I got this for you too."

At this, Amu pulled out a colorful plastic card and handed it to him. There was a familiar logo near the corner with fancy wording on it wishing him a happy birthday. A gift card to his favorite sushi place. The numbing sensation of disappointment still shrouded his thoughts. _How does cheap plastic make up for the mini rake she gave me?_ He didn't take it.

"Come on, Ikuto, there's $100 on it. I know how much you love the place," Amu said. "And I didn't know- well, there isn't anything you don't have that you want anyways. If there was, I didn't know."

Ikuto wanted to sleep and get the day over with. He wanted to be depressed alone. Maybe being sick wasn't a blessing after all. It wasn't worth getting stabbed in the heart while he was in bed, even with the love of his life next to him. He should be happy that she even acknowledged him.

"... Ikuto..? Ikuto, I baked you a big ass chocolate cake. Be grateful. If you don't wanna eat sushi by yourself, I can eat sushi with you. I'm not letting my $100 go to waste. " _That's not the point._**  
**

Even so, his mood improved a lot. The young man decided to take the opportunity. He was going on a date with Amu- _Call it otherwise, Amu, but you're still going somewhere with me. Willingly._ Ikuto felt delirious. Well, even more than he had been. In the young man's mind, he was laughing manically at what she'd said to him. Ikuto was too happy... and kind of loopy.

"Amuuu," Ikuto sang, "I'm sleepy." A little woozy at the moment, Ikuto had a feeling that he was embarrassing himself yet again.

Amu tousled his hair a little and pulled his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm taking that as a yes. I'll leave then."

He struggled to keep his eyes open, unaware of anything said or done because of the medicine in his system. Ikuto wanted to watch her leave, but his tired state won. He yawned and turned away from her.

The girl gave him half a hug and, with a soft whisper in his ear, said, "Happy birthday, Ikuto."

As she left, he muttered, "Love you, Amu." Slight snoring followed.

Amu quietly shut his balcony door behind her and sighed before leaning against it.

"Ikuto, Ikuto Ikuto..." Amu let out a quick breath. "You have no idea how much I love you."

The pink-haired girl looked up into the sky with a smile. _Ah... It's so blue._

* * *

**That warm water reference is a personal thing of mine. I love my ice with water. -3-**

**Hm. Kinda suffocating from the fluffiness. What am I doing with my life.  
Again, happy bday to Ikuto, a few months later...**

**Gotta love Amuto. x)**

**Questions, comments, or concerns? c:**


End file.
